


Can't Be Trusted

by ValeRossi1416



Category: Robotboy (Cartoon)
Genre: Best Friends, Bullying, Family, Family Drama, Friendship, Identity Reveal, Kidnapping, Mother-Son Relationship, Near Death Experiences, Rescue Mission, Robots, Uncovered Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-14 09:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16037570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValeRossi1416/pseuds/ValeRossi1416
Summary: After finding out about Robotboy's secret identity, Deb Turnbull is determined to separate him from her son Tommy, in an attempt to keep the latter safe. Friendship is tested, tension rises and trust hangs on a fine thread.





	1. No longer a secret

**Author's Note:**

> My apologies for the slow beggining of this story. I hope it is of your liking regardless.

"Oh... Oh no, Patrick..."

The woman's group of friends looked at her, puzzled expressions on their faces when they heard her half-heartedly muttering her husband's name while she looked at her phone screen.

"What happened, Margaret?" Asked Deb to her friend.

"Apparently he tried to cook himself dinner instead of just microwaving the food I had left for him and he fired up the kitchen. Luckily we happen to live near a firefighters' station and they took no time in extinguishing it, so not much was lost." She explained, closing her phone and sighing heavily. "Men, am I right?"

Her last statement was well-received with laughs from all the other women present. However, Margaret wasn't very amused herself.

"Anyways, as I suppose you're all thinking, I need to get back home, maybe give him a good scolding while I'm at it. Sorry to leave so soon, but I had fun!"

"So did I!" Said another woman, Megan. "No worries, all's good. Personally, I want to go home a bit early too. My daughter is leaving to a girls' scout camp tomorrow and I want to help her get everything ready before bedtime."

"Oh, I hope she has a great time!" Commented Deb with a smile while putting her coffee cup down. "What about you, Tiana? Will you stay here?"

Tiana smiled and shrugged. "I doubt I will for long. There are some groceries I need to buy and I'd like to get that done with before my novela starts in..." She rolled up her sleeve to take a better look at her watch. "Roughly an hour and a half."

Deb just limited herself to a chuckle. "With such a panorama, I think I'm leaving too. What would be the fun in staying alone in this cafe after all? Thank you so much girls for the offer, it was to catch up with you all!"

"No problem, Deb, I enjoyed myself a lot too." Commented Margaret. "Goodbye, hope to see you soon!"

"As long as your husband doesn't put fire on you!"

"Very funny, Tiana!" Sarcastically half-screamed Margaret, who was already heading out to the streets.

Progressively, the three women started to leave the cozy cafe as well. Deb was the last one to get out, drinking the last sip of her coffee before thanking the staff for their attention and then heading outside.

\---

PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW.

Shootings may happen every once in a while, but the citizens from Bay Area weren't used to those and were scared out of their shirts when those noises filled the air. Deb herself felt the instant survival wish to hide somewhere and avoid being hit by any bullet. The park was pretty deserted, so whatever sick mind was using guns against better judgement either didn't care about killing people or it simply wasn't very smart.

However, peeking up slightly from the tree she had hid behind, she saw that it wasn't an insane person handling dangerous weapons, but a... a robot? A huge robot that was suspended in the air, Deb assumed because of the little flames that emerged from it's feet, with cannons emerging from it's hands and shoulders, blasting at some weird looking creatures. Under normal circumstances, she would've said it was just people in costumes, but seeing how hard it must be to masquerade oneself as a levitating machine of bloodshed with such realism, Deb would also accept them to be actual mutants, should the fact be confirmed to her.

"Uhh, boss?"

Oh, there was someone here after all! She couldn't really spot where the owner of that voice was, but he didn't sound scared at all, which weirded her out. All she wanted was to run away, but feared that doing so could probably alert the robot of her presence and thus it'd attack her too.

"Should we get going? I mean, Robotboy is almost done with your forces and it'd be pretty ugly if he decided to attack us too." Spoke that voice again. Soon, it was answered by the voice of, presumably, a man older than him.

"Constantine, you and the stupid things you say! I have another arsenal right here, though it's not completed yet. Just close the window while I get them ready. This spider-pod is resistant and it will protect us from any attack Robotboy aims at us."

"Well, if you say so..." Said Constantine, sounding not too convinced, but soon enough the sound of a window closing could be heard. Despite the new barrier, Deb could still hear the older man laugh like a TV villain as the vehicle they were in stood up and came into her vision. It was a spherical pod with a K letter imprinted in black and red. Eight legs protuted from it, just like a spider indeed. The spider-pod soon collapsed to the ground when a blast from one of Robotboy's cannons hit it just in what would've been it's cephalotorax. Deb heard the two men inside talked for a bit, but could no longer make out the words. However, she could still give herself a basic idea of what they might have said to one another, considering the arachnid-shaped machine started to creep away, leaving the robot with no foes left.

Deb, justifiably so, felt like she had seen enough madness for today, but apparently there was more left. She wasn't the only one hiding behind trees. Behind one of the many from the park was no one else that her son Tommy! He came out from his spot wearing a smile on his face as he ran towards the killing robot. Deb felt herself finally capable of moving and speaking again, her instinct of protecting her progeny making this possible, but before she could warn Tommy of the serious danger he was getting himself into, the robot retrieved it's guns and took a much smaller and friendlier form. What should've been a relief for the mother turned out to be even a worse source of dread. That... thing she just witnessed, such an intimidating automaton, was Tommy's toy?!

"Robotboy, you were amazing!" Said the boy as he jumped in the air and clung to his still-flying whitish blue companion. The robot wrapped it's arms around the kid, letting out something that sounded like a giggle, but Deb's mind was still recovering from the shock to process all the new details.

Tommy possesed a machine capable of killing in ways that seemed brutal, he had such a thing laying around in the Turnbull's house all the time and even considered it a friend!? It was too much, and he was going to have to explain everything. If only she knew how to even start demanding answers.

\-----

"Hey, honey! Had a good time with your pals?" Asked Dwight, sitting on his side of the bed. Deb was curled in the blankets, her back facing the man.

"Yeah, I did."

"Hey, something's up?" Her tone of voice sounded like the one of someone who was either lying, or having a hard time, or both. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "You sound more exhausted than you usually do around night time."

"I... guess I am exhausted, yes." That wasn't entirely wrong. After what she saw, it was natural to feel like energies were being used mostly to try to rationalize the events that escaped logic.

The man sighed. "You always care so much about the kids, I get it... you're just in luck, you know why? I'm planning on taking the boys tomorrow to another mancation!"

"And why didn't you tell me?" She asked, turning her head to look him in the eye, her voice tone changing to something a big more exasperated. "Did you even ask them if they wanted to go?"

"Donnie is always up for some quality time with the best dad." Replied Dwight, proudly patting his chest when calling himself the best dad. "And Tommy needs to go, being around men might help him toughen up!"

Deb just sighed defeatedly. Not only did she dissaprove of Dwight trying to turn Tommy into someone he simply wasn't, but now he was taking him away for a whole day when what she needed to do the most was talk with their younger son. Though, trying to look on the bright side, a whole day alone might be what she needs to collect her ideas and put them in place. She couldn't have a good talk with Tommy if her mind was a mess.

"So?" Asked the man impatiently, wearing a smile, positive that she would accept.

The woman closed her eyes and lifted the blankets closer to her face. "Alright, you can have them for tomorrow."

"Yes!" He exclaimed, tucking himself in, just beside her. "Good night, sweet-hon."

"Night, Dwight."

\----

After waving goodbye to the three men of her heart from the window of Tommy's room, Deb headed towards the shelf and grabbed the little toy that Dwight and Donnie always referred to as a stupid doll. On the bedside table was Tommy's watch. The day before, she had seen from afar that Tommy pressed a button and Robotboy adopted an even smaller form, the one he had now. He was laying on his back, on the bed, where Deb was sitting just two feet away, examining the watch and wondering which button would bring him back to life. She pressed a random one, and coincidentally, it was the button she was looking for. Robotboy grew bigger, his eyes opened and a smile formed on his metallic lips.

"Tommy home now?" He spoke and was unable to stifle a gasp when in a fraction of a second later he became aware of Tommy's mother being right there. Now sitting, he remembered that one time his identity was almost uncovered by Donnie, but acting like a dumb toy had saved him, even if just barely. Maybe it could work now too.

"I robot toy. Beep boop, beep boop."

"Now, that doesn't fool me, Robotboy."

Robotboy said nothing, but his systems gave off the usual sound that indicated intrigue, curiosity, doubt. Deb was the only one in the room, he could see, she had the watch on her hands and had her full attention on him. She was also addresing him directly, as if they had known each other for a while. Her posture was anything, but intimidating, so no need to get defensive... for now, at least.

"I know you're no normal robot, okay? I've... seen what you're capable of. P-please, don't attack me, I won't harm you." Said Deb nervously, shaking her palms left and right. "I can also see you can communicate, so I hope we can both talk. I wanted to do this with Tommy, but he's not here now."

She sounded... tense, exhausted and confused. Still, she presented no harm, so Robotboy, while not liking that his identity was being discovered despite Tommy's constant attempts to keep him a secret, was willing to give her answers.

She took a deep breath and began. "What are you? Please don't say "robot toy" or "Robotboy". Tell me what you're _supposed_ to be. You came to us in a package, I remember that, but I was _so_ sure you were just a toy... And you aren't. How and why did you come here?"

The little metallic buddy adjusted his antennas a little and uncomfortably spoke. "I - creation of Moshimo. Moshimo - great inventor and Tommy - big fan of Moshimo. Robotboy sent to Tommy by Moshimo."

"Moshimo? I think I've heard that name before, but I'm not too sure..." Commented the woman, mostly to herself, looking down and tapping her forehead with a finger. "Why did he send you to Tommy?"

"Moshimo fear that Robotboy fall in wrong hands, bad guys want Robotboy. Tommy - good friend, teach how to be real boy and protect from enemies."

Bad guys? Could he be talking about the two men whom she didn't see, but heard? The ones that were inside that spider-pod?

" 'Bad guys' are after you? Tha-That means if you're here, they will be coming here and cause trouble?... What do they even want to do with you, destroy you?" Barely a minute talking to this robot and Deb could feel her nerves on edge. He looked friendly, but what he was saying seemed to tell otherwise, that he imposed a danger to her family.

Robotboy's antennas dropped and he hesitated to tell her, knowing that she could very well not like the answer. But she had the right to know. And even if she didn't, she still had him somewhat cornered, at her mercy.

"For... world. domination?"

Deb's mouth hung slightly open for a while, not being sure of how to feel about the new information. She saw how powerful Robotboy truly was, and if such a force was stolen and made to bid the evil intentions of evil people, the world could very well be doomed for.

All she could do was hang her head low and just stare at her feet, grasping a side of her head while her other hand still held the watch. This was a body language Robotboy didn't like.

"They want... to use you for world domination? Are you aware of how dangerous that is!? I-I- I saw you yesterday, at the park! You were this..." She straightened her posture and opened her hands wide, using them to match her words. "Huge thing! You had so many cannons all over you, it was crazy!"

A few sad beeps escaped from the robot's body as he tried to calmly explain. "Already know that. That why fight bad guys. No want become their weapon."

"Can't you go back to this Moshimo guy you mentioned? He's the one who created you, he should be the one dealing with you, not Tommy!" She knew Tommy loved Robotboy, but he had to know it was never worth it to put oneself in danger out of love for somebody else. He should be fine without Robotboy, right? He still had Lola and Gus, two normal friends who imposed no threats.

Robotboy felt a bit of anger bubbling up inside him, feeling attacked when she said Tommy didn't deserve him, but he was aware that the reason so many people were behind Tommy was because of him. And Deb was just doing what a mother would do: protect her child, even if it didn't feel like it needed to be protected.

"Moshimo - busy man! Also dangerous to live with him. Tommy - not very busy person and always teach Robotboy about human way of living! Robotboy protect Tommy, always!" Reassured the automaton, trying to convey that while he may not be the safest thing to be around, he certainly tries to make up for it by willing to protect his friend no matter what. Still, Deb didn't seem convinced.

"Look, I know Tommy cares about you, and likewise, I care about him, he's my son! Sorry to tell you this, but I really doubt it's good for him to be near you, you shouldn't have to protect him if you didn't bring harm his way in the first place!" She said in a rush, her hands starting to tremble a little. More sad beeps were announced by the robot, knowing that, in a way, she was right. Still, he didn't want to get away from Tommy, and he knew the boy wouldn't like to be away from him either! In fact, it had already happened a few times that they were separated and boy, did they look forward to nothing but to be reunited during their time apart.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't think I can do this anymore." Stuttered the woman, holding a finger threateningly close to the deactivation button. All Robotboy was able to do was to stretch out a hand and say 'no' before the command was given and he retreated to his inert doll state. "I'll talk with Tommy about this later, once he's back. But for now, you're gonna stay like that and I'll just pray that nobody with wicked intentions comes to the house before we figure this out." She explained, although she knew she wouldn't get any answer. With that, she left the watch on the bedside table, though forgot to put Robotboy back where she had found him and just exited the room, waiting for the evening. Time passed way too slowly for her liking and it made her agonize.

\----

The sound of the car's wheels against the concrete was a blessing to Deb's ears. It was 10:00 PM, quite late and Tommy had been forced to participate in physical activities that robbed him of his energy (not to mention all the times he got hurt due to his exhausted, clumsy body and Donnie just being a jerk towards him as usual). All he wanted to do was get to bed.

The house's only woman cordially greeted her husband and first son, but her attention was focused on the family's youngest child. Once she saw him enter through the door, she pronounced the following. "Tommy, there is something urgent I need to speak with you about. But before that, take a shower, you look a mess."

His mother's appearance, crossed arms and suspicious eyes, threw him off for a moment, but agreed to do what she had ordered. The shower did feel really nice, the hot water relaxed his aching muscles and it made him feel even cozier in his pajamas. By the time he was done dressing up again, his mom was already at the other side of the door, knocking on it a few times and receiving a call from Tommy that she could enter. And so she did.

They both were located in the center of the room, Tommy standing up and Deb going down on a knee to be at eye-level with her son. She grasped his shoulders and announced what she had to say.

"Tommy, I know about Robotboy."

Tommy's blood instantly ran cold, but he tried not to show it, while also trying to think about anything about Robotboy that his mother could be referring to, other than his identity as a highly-advanced fighting robot. He didn't even know what to say to that, so he was grateful she continued.

"I know he is not a toy. Yesterday, I saw him fighting some wicked-looking monsters and then attacking a spider-shaped vehicle. I talked with him today while you were gone and he told me about his origins and the relationship you have with him. Tommy, I must say, I always approved of him, because I knew he made you happy, but he is dangerous, wether you like it or not. And I'm heavily considering giving him back to his creator."

Tommy felt like the world was going slow motion as the words flew out from Deb's mouth and her last statement made his heart skip a beat. After all his efforts to keep Robotboy safe and a secret, it's his mother of all people who imposes the biggest threat to their friendship? Deb had always been the kind of mother who supports her children's decisions, but the way she was talking firmly implied that for this one time, she was willing to apply authoritative rule. Despite this, he knew he needed to defend his posture on the matter.

"B-but mom... I did try once to give him back to his creator, but he was confident that I get to keep him. A-and look, so far I've done good! If you did speak with him, you must've noticed he's a nice guy!" Tried to explain a very nervous Turnbull kid, pointing with his hand at the inactive robot that still lay on top of his bed.

"That doesn't matter." Said Deb, now standing up to her full height. "He also told me that, quote on quote, bad guys are after him. As long as he lives here," She emphasized on the last word by pointing the ground with her index finger. "Whoever those bad guys are are gonna keep coming here. And I do not want you taking part of crazy battles like the one I witnessed yesterday, I won't allow it!"

"But mom...!"

"No buts! I will personally talk to that Moshimo guy and convince him to get Robotboy back. He created him and he should deal with the danger it implies."

"Robotboy protects me! You saw him yesterday, didn't you? Fighting those monster and forcing Kamikazi to retreat? He was doing so to protect me!"

"I will tell you the same thing I told him: He shouldn't have to protect you if he didn't bring harm your way in the first place." She said it with so much confidence that Tommy found himself wordless. "Look, I won't get rid of him right away, there are some things that need to be cleared up first, but I hope you start preparing yourself to say goodbye to that robot." And with that, she started to leave his room, but stopped right under the door frame when her son called for her.

"Wait! If you could promise me one thing please? To not tell dad or Donnie? I mean... why would they have to know anyway? I can just tell them I outgrew my 'doll' and they'll be happy with that, right?" Maybe his mom knows about his secret now, but that doesn't mean the whole family needs to know right away too. He could feel his heart tighten by just thinking of all the things that could go wrong if Donnie and Dwight were to find out as well.

Her eyes squinted and her lips curled, but nonetheless she agreed. And then left the room definitely. After the door was shut, Tommy just stood there, head low and eyes stinging with tears. After a few moments of feelings so complicated he couldn't describe, he decided to tuck himself in bed, but not without sharing a bit with Robotboy first. He placed his friend next to him on the bed and activated him.

"Tommy?" Asked his silver-coated friend and the blonde kid could immediately feel that Robotboy wasn't as happy as he usually would've been upon seeing him.

"Hey, Ro." Greeted Tommy, forcing a smile that was short-lived. "Mom, huh?"

His friend's ears dropped. "Yeah. Robotboy sad... and scared." He scooted closer to the human, clung to his pajama shirt and buried his head in his chest, muffling his voice a little. "No want leave Tommy."

"Me neither, buddy." Replied the boy, offering a comforting hand on the robot's back. He gave a long sigh. "I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen."

"So did Robotboy... no use." Said the little robot, his voice no longer muffled, since he had taken his head out of Tommy's chest, but still held on to his body. "What do now?"

"It doesn't seem like we can do much for now. Just hope that she takes a very long time to choose what to do with you and maybe get used to you before taking a decision." He frowned and looked down at his lap. "Though that's just wishful thinking... Knowing her, she'll want to get this over with quickly. She... she thinks I'm in danger because of you and yes, maybe I wouldn't have to deal with Kamikazi or Affenkugel or anybody if I weren't friends with you, but..." His lips were pressed together tightly, looking at his slightly trembling hands. "I wouldn't trade your friendship for anything, Ro."

Robotboy's eyes filled with oily tears, he was moved at his friend's words and couldn't hide the smile from his face. However, his semblance soon turned back to seriousness and he wiped the few tears away with his finger before they fell on Tommy's sheets or pajamas. He went back to nuzzling against the human boy. "Tommy - best friend always."

Now it was Tommy's turn to return the hug appropiately. He still dreaded for what might happen in the future, but for now, having his robotic friend close made him feel a bit better. "Forever and always, Robotboy."

They stayed that way for a while until Tommy's watch started to beep, indicating that Ro was almost out of batteries. "I'm going to have to recharge you." Announced the boy, moving the blanket aside, "Come on."

Now both kids were out of bed. Robotboy sat on the floor and was deactivated by Tommy, who didn't take long to get everything in place so his robotic buddy could recharge. Lately it was taking Robotboy longer to have his batteries charged at their one-hundred percent capacity and he didn't last as long as he used to. Perhaps it's time to change those old batteries, to ask Moshimo for new ones. Though why bother the old man with sending him a couple of new ones if Robotboy is possibly moving in with his creator anyway?

Wait, no, don't think like that. Robotboy is staying, he has to! They both want to keep living together, they can't handle being apart for too long. Tommy sat back on his bed, wanting to believe this mess would end up taking a positive route, but doubting it would. He hugged his knees and thought about the many ways the future could unfold itself as he watched Robotboy, so quiet and defenseless, for hours throughout the night until exhaustion got him and he fell asleep.

\-----

Tommy, out of a sudden, felt a hand resting on top of his shoulder, slightly shaking him.

"Tommy." Spoke the voice softly, and he recognized it clearly. It was mom. "Tommy, it's almost lunch time, come on."

The boy couldn't really bother to care that much about the hour. He was sleeping perfectly fine just a few moments ago and he wanted it to stay that way. Rolling on his side towards the wall, he managed to move his lips a little to speak. "I don't wanna..."

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked, stretching a hand out to put it on top of his forehead. "No fever, it seems..."

"I'm not sick, mom." Replied the boy who shoke his head a bit so his mother would get her hand away, which she did. "I just wanna sleep, okay?"

The woman sighed. "Well, be grateful it's Sunday." She sat on the edge on his bed and for a few moments all she did was look at Robotboy. His batteries were once again to their full potential now, but he was still deactivated and with his charger on. Then she decided to speak. "I assume you have a way to contact his creator, right?"

It took Tommy's sleepy mind a few seconds to get who she was talking about. "Professor Moshimo? I talk to him sometimes." He admitted, still not fully awake to realize that his mom could get suspicious of anything he said that gave important information.

"I want to talk to him now." She said, now facing her son, who still laid on his left side. "You know, to discuss the whole thing with Robotboy. How do you contact him?"

All Tommy did was groan and shift so his face would be buried into the pillow and his hands curled into fists. What a great way to start the day, right? Be reminded that your best friend is potentially getting taken away, not by enemies, but by who should've been an ally.

"Tommy." Insisted Deb and her voice once more left no room for questioning. He had no options, but to simply contact Moshimo. He sat up, begrudgingly, rubbing his fists against his eyelids and then reaching for the watch that was on the bedside table. He pressed a button and the old man's face was in sight. The hologram faced Tommy, so Moshimo couldn't see Deb at first.

"Oh, hello, Tommy." Greeted the robotologist cordially. "How are you?"

Tommy's lips curled up into a weak smile and he replied. "Hello, Professor. I... could be better, honestly." He said, smile fading. He turned the watch around so it would face Deb now. "This is my mom. She wanted to speak with you."

The professor was honestly a bit surprised to meet one of Tommy's family members for the first time. He wasn't sure why someone of his family would want to talk to him, but hey, first impressions are important, so he promised to himself to be as polite as he could. Putting on a smile, he saw it safe to begin speaking. "Good morning, Mrs. Turnbull, it's a pleasure to meet you. What is it that you wish to speak with me about?"

"Yes, hello, my name's Deb Turnbull and..." She cleared her throat and straightened her back. The way her face looked and the way her voice sounded made Tommy feel very uncomfortable about what was going on. "I wanted to request you to take Robotboy back with you, because I do not intend to keep him in this house, not anymore."

The old man's eyes widened. So she knew about Robotboy? He doubted Tommy was the one to tell her, since the boy had worked so hard to keep his creation a secret the moment he was asigned to it. And while he knew Robotboy's identity was to be revealed sooner or later, this was _too_ soon. There were still so many dangers implicated and whatever Moshimo's location was, it wasn't safe for either him or Robotboy to have the latter living there. The professor still had many projects to work on and Robotboy was still in need of regular updates to become the best fighting robot he could be, so for the time being, dealing with all sorts of ill-intentioned people was incredibly risky and the last thing they wanted. Not to mention Ro's wishes to become a real boy would be harder to accomplish if he stayed all day, everyday in a secret lab with no kids around.

"Uh, professor?" Was what Moshimo could hear from a nervous sounding Tommy. Apparently he had zoned out for a moment or two and he left Deb hanging. Dang it. Blinking the surprise of the request away, he replied, trying not to show his embarrasment for the situation.

"O-oh, my apologies, Mrs. You... want to get rid of Robotboy?"

"Definitely." Answered the woman, closing her eyes to emphasize the confidence she had in this decision. And luckily for the man, she didn't seem to mind his mistake of spacing out. "Not destroy him, necessarily, I just want him far away from here and I figured that if he has to stay somewhere, it should be at your place."

"I... I see what you mean, Mrs. Turnbull. However, I am sure that we do not need to take such drastic measures and we should try to talk about it first. I am currently not the one taking care of Robotboy, because it is, how to say... inconvenient." Said the professor, adjusting his glasses and trying to keep a good image while defending his posture.

"Inconvenient?" Said Deb, slightly surprised. "Inconvenient to who, to you? Sir, you were the one to create him, why would you make my son have to take the burden of looking out for that killing machine you made?" She added, tone of voice slowly raising as she did so.

"Mom..." Groaned Tommy, not liking at all the way his mother was speaking to his role model, but also cowering from her unusual authoritative attitude and not daring to raise his voice at her back.

Professor Moshimo still tried to get on her best side, despite now feeling a bit threatened. "Please listen. Tommy is a really good kid and I am fond of him. I would hate to ever see him get hurt because of me or my creations. If having Robotboy ever presented a threat to his integrity.."

"Which it does."

"...then I would take Robotboy back with me. Why I haven't done so is also because he is capable enough to protect Tommy from any dangers they might face. Robotboy has a very close bond with your son, Mrs. Turnbull, to the point where he prefers him over me. Having them separated would undoubtedly be good for Tommy's physical safety, but they'd both miss each other a lot to the point where they wouldn't be able to function to their maximum potential."

Deb had to really will herself not to roll her eyes. "He can learn to live without that robot again. He's already got friends that present no danger to him, that should be enough for him. Let me make it clear that Robotboy is not staying, so either you take him under your care again or I just kick him out of this house and leave him to his luck."

"Mom!" Said Tommy in a mix of a hiss and a whisper, honestly wanting to hang up on the holographic call just so Moshimo wouldn't see how annoyingly overbearing his mom was. It hurt him, because she rarely was like this, and she just had to be in tiger mom mindset when she talked with the professor. These two's first encounter should've been an amicable one, not... this. Deb didn't pay any mind to her son's quiet protests, being very convinced that he wasn't thinking straight. She simply wanted the best for him, why couldn't he see that?

The robotologist knew at this point that there was no way to convince her. He didn't want to escalate the argument any further, so he resigned himself to do as she asked. "All right, I will take him back." He announced, gaining a surprised and horrified stare from Tommy. Fortunately for him, he couldn't see the boy's face from this angle, so his decision was not affected by the sentimentality it would've caused in him should he had seen Tommy. "However, if I could make a request of my own? To please keep him for a week or so? I'll have to prepare all kinds of security systems to my current location if he's going to stay here." Briefly explained the Japanese man, hoping Deb's answer would be positive. And it was.

"I suppose I can commit to that." She answered, though her face showed she didn't really like the idea. "But just one week!" She was quick to add. "Please have everything ready by then."

The professor assured her he would and cordially said his goodbyes to her. She did the same and the call was cut. She then looked at her son's still surprised face and her own eyed softened.

Stretching out a hand to rest it on his shoulder, she tried to comfort him. "One week, okay? One week to spend time with him or whatever before he moves out." She said, and Tommy's only response was to curl his fists tighter and frown, looking down at the watch. This gained him a sigh from his mother. "I know you don't like this, but I swear I'm doing it for your good."

"He is my _best friend_ , mom..." Was the only thing the child could mutter.

"I don't doubt that, but he can't stay here anymore. Not all friendships last forever, Tommy, and I think this ocassion serves to make you see that. You still have Lola and Gus, though. You could always hang out with them." She said, forcing a smile and patting the boy's shoulder.

"You seem a lot more awake now, so I think you should be able to come downstairs for lunch."

If Tommy had to be honest, he was anything but hungry after hearing the professor's approval of Deb's plan. However, he couldn't will himself to decline her offer and simply went along with it.

"Sure, I'll be there in a bit."

\-----

Now back in his room, Tommy remembered to unplug his friend, his batteries having been fully recharged a long time ago. Not only that, but the robot also had to know about what was going to happen, so Tommy, now having Robotboy ready for activation, pressed the button of his watch and the automaton was once more conscious.

"Tommy okay? No look good."

Tommy still felt kinda tired and he couldn't eat that much, so he guessed he must look sick or something. "I'm fine, Ro. Kinda... mom called Professor Moshimo to tell him you should go back to him." Not daring to look Robotboy in the eye, the blone kid wrapped his own arms around himself. "And he agreed."

Some surprised beeps and a gasp was all Tommy needed to know about what Robotboy thought of it. He could also hear his metallic arms flailing up and down. "That no fair! Robotboy - never asked what want!"

"To be fair, I wasn't asked either. He did try to convince her to let you stay here, but she kept insisting and he had to go along." Explained the boy with a bad taste in his mouth. "They agreed that you get to spend one more week with me before... you know."

After the initial shock of the news and the strong feeling of injustice, what Robotboy now felt was resignation. His ears dropped and his body emitted sad beeps. "... Spend more time together?"

"That's exactly what mom told me." He said, now looking back at his friend. "To spend time with you before you depart. Wanna play video games?" He suggested, nervously rubbing his arm. They both loved video games and they could play at also any time of the day, since they lived together. So they both wanted to take the best out of that one week left before Tommy had to go back to choose the only one player option like he used to do so long before.

With a sigh, Robotboy unenthusiastically responded. "Okay, Tommy. I be Inhuman Toe."

Both boys sat on the ground in fromt of the TV and grabbed their consoles, the game starting shortly after. They could almost feel joy, amusement and competitiveness bubbling up inside them, but the knowledge that they'd soon say goodbye to each other kept those emotions in the dark.

Not many minutes later, Tommy saw himself in the necessity of deactivating Robotboy upon hearing steps, unmistakably Donnie's, get closer to his room. The teenager opened the door with a kick and walked in. He shot a quick glance at his younger brother and couldn't keep a laugh from coming out when he saw the inert robot laying behind the second console.

"Come on now, if you wanted a second player, you should've asked me!" And then he swiftly took the console away from Tommy's hands, smashed it to the ground and stomped on it, turning it completely useless. After that, he took the console used to control Inhuman Toe and didn't take long to defeat the Human Fist. After that, he threw the control out of the window and it made a similar sound than the other one when it was broken by him as well.

"Why did you have to-!" Screamed an angry Tommy, standing up and ready to headbutt his brother, who stopped him in his tracks effortlessly by simply putting his palm in between himself and Tommy's head. He didn't even finish his sentence and limited himself to emitting a growl.

"Gee, Tommy, you're really bad, I beat you in no time! Maybe you'd be better if you practiced with literally everyone other than your stupid doll." He commented smugly and pushed Tommy with enough force to make the younger boy fall on his butt, then proceeded to head back into his room laughing at the cruelty he just committed against his brother.

Tommy, on the other hand, felt himself wanting to cry, but was too angry to allow the tears to fall, so he hissed, with a fist resting on his eyelid and tried to collect himself before turning Ro back on. It took a while, but once he didn't feel so miserable, he did so and his silver-coated sidekick sat up, looking at his human friend with a small frown.

"Robotboy no like Donnie, at all!" He said, perfectly aware of what had happened, but just now was he able to react.

All Tommy did was look into Robotboy's eyes, deep in thought. For as long as he could remember, Donnie had always teased Tommy in ways that were quite questionable in a healthy brother dynamic, because it simply wasn't a healthy brother dynamic, there was an imbalance of power that sadly wasn't just because of one being the oldest or anything like that. There was also the matter with dad, who would always favor Donnie for being manlier and sees his aggressive approach towards Tommy as a good trait for a man to have, as well as a way for Tommy to see how he was "supposed to be". And while he really appreciated mom for letting him be himself, she also wasn't the best person around, as she was usually oblivious of all their unhealthy fights. Not to mention that she currently wants to take Robotboy away...

"I don't know what I'll do without you, Ro." He suddenly said, breaking from his train of thought. "Having you here makes living with Donnie so much easier!"

The robot's ear drooped and a sad beep was heard coming from him. "Come on, let's go park."

And with that, he grabbed his friend under the armpits, with no protests whatsoever, and flew towards the park. Maybe some fresh air, time away from home and an ice-cream might help improve the Turnbull kid's mood.

\-----

Just today did Tommy discover that Robotboy had recently came up with the idea of keeping a few bills inside his hand in case Tommy didn't count with enough money at the moment or no money at all. He had thought this would be necessary in cases such as running low on batteries, unable to fly Tommy home and having to use public transport. Or maybe if they were in need of information about a foe's plans or current location, they could use that money to get someone to give them the information they might need. Well, turns out that the first time this new habit of Robotboy comes in handy is when they are about to buy an ice-cream and Tommy doesn't have his wallet with him.

Tommy did feel a small pang of hunger, but he himself didn't have enough motivation to actually look for something to eat. Still, Ro had made the offer in such a nice manner that the boy couldn't decline and decided to eat at least some ice-cream just to make his robotic buddy happy.

After the treat had been given to the human boy, the two of them went to one of the benches and simply sat there, not talking much, but enjoying each other's company nonetheless. Every once in a while, something nearby would make them remember some of their adventures and they'd have a brief happy moment where everything felt as if nothing was wrong. A small black dog passed by and they remembered Sparky, a plane advertising a candy brand reminded them of the time Robotboy stayed with Gus while Tommy was at the hospital, when they saw some kids playing soccer, they remembered the time when they played that game too, and so on. They would laugh and chat and mention specific moments of those adventures that stood out to them because of how funny, or scary, or significant they felt at the time.

After what was probably half an hour, Tommy felt a lot better and in the mood to even play a little, so Robotboy flew home and, being careful that neither Dwight or Donnie were around, grabbed a disc and flew back to the park where his friend was waiting for him. The robot was having fun too, but unfortunately for him, Tommy soon grew bored of their game. Was he to blame? Not really, Robotboy knew that even if he tried to get his mind out of their current sticky situation, a part of Tommy's mind would always be reminding him of how little time the two had to spent together.

"Robotboy school?"

"What?"

The question seemed sudden and a bit weird, but Ro had his motifs to ask it.

"Tomorrow Monday, Tommy have school. You take Robotboy to school? We together." Explained the tiny blue machine.

He wasn't sure if what he said was correct or not, because Tommy's response was to groan and facepalm.

"Tommy okay?"

"Yeah, I just forgot I have school tomorrow... I suppose I should start preparing my backpack and everything. Let's go home?"

The robot gave a sad beep, but still nodded. "Let's go." And with that, he grabbed his friend from under the armpits again and flew them both back to the Turnbull's residence.

\----

Robotboy didn't do much as Tommy prepared himself for tomorrow. First, he checked his school material for any homework, and to his dismay, there were some math problems he had to solve. Fortunately, Ro pitied him this time (probably because of how tired he looked) and, while not giving him the immediate answer, he did help by making the steps easier for the boy.

After that, Tommy decided to take a shower. He usually did this in the mornings, but he had woken up late and wasn't even in the mood to obey his routine, but since tomorrow was a school day, he opted to clean himself up, and he hoped this time the hot water would help him relax and sleep well. It was still a bit early, true, but considering the few hours he slept, he considered going to bed early would be the best.

He showered, dried his body with a towel, put on some pajamas and put another towel on his shoulders, so the water dripping from his hair wouldn't make a wet spot around his shoulders and neck. With that done, he emerged from the bathroom and went back to his room. To his surprise, Deb was there, sitting on the bed with Robotboy next to her, none of them talking with one another. The robot's ears were down and they perked up when he caught sight of his friend.

"Tommy..." He said with a tinge of happiness in his voice, and his call for the boy alerted Deb that her son had returned.

"Thank goodness you're back." She said, standing up. With a hand, she gestured at the sandwich and orange juice that were laying on top of his bedside table. "I know you weren't really in the mood to eat, but it's still something you got to do, so I brought you an afternoon snack. I hope you have a proper breakfast tomorrow."

Groaning, mostly to himself, the kid shuffled his feet into the room, using the towel to dry his hair a little. "I will, mom."

"And you should go to bed earlier today too."

"That's what I was planning to do." Answered the boy, sitting where she had been only a moment ago. Robotboy then activated his propulsion feet and hovered near Tommy, using the flames to make Tommy's hair dry more quickly as he used the towel as well. This was already part of their routine and was normal to them, though Deb was... intrigued, to say the least. Still, she didn't press on the matter.

"Okay then. Good night. Even though it's not night yet." She added the last part a bit awkwardly and turned around to exit Tommy's bedroom.

Neither he or his robotic friend talked until they were done with their together-post-shower ritual. Robotboy then settled on the ground and pointed at the food. "Mom right. Tommy need eat."

This gained a small chuckle from the Turnbull kid. Ro always made sure his friend's health was optimal, that he always was well-fed, rested and not injured. Should Robotboy not have the mind of a 10 year old, Tommy would see him as a parent of sorts.

After a whole day of one quarter of his usual lunch portion and an ice-cream, Tommy's stomach was yelling at him to get some proper food into his system, so the boy did as his belly wanted and ate the entirety of the afternoon snack with no problem.

It was seven and a half hours when Tommy's brain started demanding sleep. Robotboy's batteries still had some power, but Tommy opted to recharge his buddy once more. Maybe Ro would want to stay activated for longer periods of time to be able to enjoy the most time possible with the human child. With Robotboy plugged and Tommy cuddled up in bed, the two boys were ready to gain some energy back, but not without saying their "good night"s to each other first.


	2. How do things turn out now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deb has made the decision that Robotboy must leave so he doesn't put her family in danger, but is there a possibility of a change of mind for her?

Monday. Hooray.  
  
Tommy would be lying if he said seeing Gus didn't cheer him up at least a little bit. The G-man was, like always, full of himself, but still somewhat friendly towards Tommy and Robotboy as well.  
  
" 'Sup, Tommy!" He greeted and waved from afar. Tommy smiled weakly and heard a curious, expectant beep from Robotboy inside his backpack.  
  
"Hey, Gus. Could you go to the bathroom with me?" Asked the boy, pointing at the bathroom that wasn't far away.  
  
"Pfft, ha! Going to the bathroom together is for girls, dude." He said in that smug voice of his.  
  
The answer wasn't well received by the blonde kid, who frowned and adopted a much serious semblance. "Gus, please, there's something important I need to tell you."  
  
And Gus rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."  
  
Thankfully, no other kid was in the bathroom, so no need to hide inside a stall. Tommy opened his backpack and Robotboy peeped out. With a hand pointing at the robot, Tommy spoke.  
  
"In a week, he'll no longer be around. He'll go back with Professor Moshimo."  
  
"WHAT?! Are you serious this time?!" Gus remembered very well that one time "Moshimo" had called them to get Robotboy back, when it was actually Kamikazi trying to capture their friend, as usual. He wasn't sure if this wasn't a drill.  
  
"Yes, mom found out about him and doesn't want him to stay. So he has one more week with us before goodbye."  
  
"Yo, no fair!” He exclaimed, putting his fists on his hips. He tried to look annoyed with Deb’s decision, but looking closely, one could see moisture in the redhead’s eyes. “What’s wrong with your mom, dude, I say you grab Robotboy and go live to the mountains with ‘im! I’ll learn to pilot Lola’s plane and steal it to visit you sometimes, okay, sounds good?”

Gus couldn’t really stay serious for too long, could he? He still tried to joke around! Though knowing him, he might be doing it to prevent himself from bawling his eyes out in front of everyone. He couldn't hold himself together when Robotboy was about to return to "Moshimo", so who's to say he can do that now? This situation seemed worse by far. Gus was well acquantainced with Tommy's mother and she was usually very warm and approachable, but he had seen her in her ugliest moments too and in those instances, it always seemed best to keep a distance.  
  
Tommy would've felt annoyed, but mostly he felt tired, but not physically like before. Now it was mental exhaustion. He had to explain this to Gus and then do the same with Lola once they encountered her... so today consisted basically on constant reminders that his bestest friend in the world will no longer be around shortly. He was almost going to tell Gus to stop fooling around, but, a bit to his surprise, it was Robotboy who did.  
  
"No funny, G-man. Robotboy go with Moshimo. It final," He said, hanging his head low and closing his eyes. Opening them once more, he continued. "That why Robotboy want have fun with everybody! Before goodbye..."  
  
The small joking atmosphere Gus had set up was now gone and the chubby boy now crossed his arms, looking to the side to avoid eye contant. "Okay... I get ya, man. I-I can drop by today if that's cool."  
  
Robotboy nodded and Tommy replied with a smile. "That'd be great."  
  
And the bell rang.  
  
"Shoot, we should get going. Lola's in the same class as me, so I'll tell her when I see her. Later, G-man." Tommy then grabbed his backpack (once Ro had retreated back into it, of course) and pulled it over his shoulders, heading towards his class as Gus went to his.  
  
\-----

  
  
"What, no way!"  
  
The teacher was taking a long time to come and all the kids were, therefore, making noise, so Tommy took this opportunity to talk with Lola. As expected, her reaction was one of schock, then disappointment. Robotboy was inside the backpack, under Tommy' table, so he was kinda hidden and peeping out a little wouldn't be dangerous. From Lola's angle, only the robot's face was visible and she could see how sad he was about it too.  
  
The girl shifted so she could crouch on her seat and stretch out her arm to caress Robotboy's cheek. "Oh, Robotboy... I'm gonna miss you so much."  
  
"Me too," said in response the sad machine.  
  
"You can come to my house today after school. Robotboy wants to spend as much time as possible with all of you."  
  
Lola nodded, going back to a normal sitting position. "Sure, I'll come."  
  
The teacher finally made it to the classroom and the moment he entered, all the kids went quiet. While he apologized for his delay, Tommy considered deactivating Ro or not. His charge was still somewhat high, but classes were about to start and he knew the robot would get bored. So to spare him some battery life and the two hours of boring algebra, he pressed the button on his watch and took his notebook out just like everyone else did.  
  
This week was gonna be awful.  
  
\-----

  
  
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were more or less the same. Go to school, then to Tommy's house and try to have fun in the best way possible. Sometimes they watched The Human Fist, some other times they simply frisbee or tried to find funny videos on WeTube. And there was this one day they were given a lot of Homework, so they spent most of that afternoon studying. And of course, Robotboy refused to help them, though it was easy to fool him into giving them the answers.  
  
Friday afternoon, however, was different. Robotboy's battery was really low, so he had to recharge while the three friends played in the backyard. They had promised at the start of that week to be together and have fun, but Tommy and Gus seemed to forget this as they started playing with one another with Tommy' action figures of the Human Fist and Inhuman Toe, leaving Lola aside. As the boys kept making battle noises and the poor girl just stayed in a certain spot, hoping their game would end soon so they could move on to something else, the sound of a branch breaking was heard, followed by the sound of someone falling. The kids looked towards the source of that noise and to their surprise, it was...  
  
"CONSTANTINE!"  
  
And Kamikazi. Hidden in the foliage of a nearby tree.  
  
"You ruined everything!"  
  
"I'm so sorry, boooss!"  
  
Both villains were, for some reason, dressed up as circus people, Kamikazi wore a costume similar to that of a lion tamer and Constantine wore a sleevless, colorful suit, like the one a high wire artist would wear. Indeed, on the floor, close to the bigger man, were two sticks, a short one used for balance and a long, broken in half one. Apparently it was being used so Constantine would walk and enter Tommy's room via the open window, to take Robotboy.  
  
Deb, who had been washing the dishes, saw everything that happened and rushed outside, not suspecting a thing about them trying to get into her house. She was more concerned about the man who fell and nervously reached out to him.  
  
"Sir, are you alright? Can you stand up by yourself? W-We have an aid kit somewhere, I could bring it to you."  
  
Well, wasn't she sweet? A good trait, except that, in the kids' opinions, she was directing her good intentions towards the wrong people.  
  
"Mom, that's not-!"  
  
"Oh, thank you, miss~" Interrupted the henchman, "That's so very nice of-"  
  
"STOP TALKING WITH HER AND GET TO PLAN B!"  
  
After the initial shock caused by the scream, Constantine turned to Gus and Tommy and adopted some sort of fighting stance, before realizing something.  
  
"But, boss, you have the whip, not me!"  
  
And the older villain facepalmed. "You can't do anything for yourself, can you?!" And with that, he took a whip from his pocket and used it to trap Tommy Turnbull. The kid squirmed a little before his feet were lifted from the ground and within few seconds, he was in Kamikazi' grasp.  
  
"Tommy!" Exclaimed Deb, utterly horrified. "Who do you think you a-"  
  
Halfway through demanding that man to offer explanations as to why he was taking Tommy away (as well as demand him to let her son go, of course), she finally connected the dots. His lion tamer attire was decent enough, but a moustache wasn't enough to make his face mistakable for anyone else's.  
  
"Junior?!"  
  
There was an awkward two second silence where nobody moved, except for Dr. Kamikazi himself, who tensed at the mention of that awful nickname used by his mother. Shortly after, he snapped at her, and since his mouth was somewhat close to Tommy's ear, the boy winced and tried to get his head as far away from Kamikazi's own.  
  
"Don't call me that stupid name!! I am Dr. Kamikazi to you! Constantine, get over here now!" He shouted with a shaking fist and a lot of saliva coming out his mouth as he did so (and some of it splattering over Tommy' cheek).  
  
"Y-yes, boss!" And swiftly, the villain assistant jumped over the fence and waited for the platform to get down. Inside the foliage hid a metal platform on which Kamikazi stood. And it was visible that attached to it was a mechanic arm. The kids nor Deb knew where this arm came from, they only knew it came from someplace in the city.  
  
The mother was soon out of the backyard and in the street, just before the platform started to rise. With a jump, she managed to hang onto it, but a moment later she regretted this decision, as her feet were now _too_ above the ground. And the platform was now going far from her house and deeper into the city!  
  
The Turnbull kid, despite being tied firmly by the whip, still managed to look down and see his mother clinging on to dear life. Appalled, he screamed. "Mom, what are you doing?! Get out of here!"  
  
"I can't let them take you away, Tommy!" She screamed in reply, "Also, we're in the middle of the air!"  
  
Those were the last words Lola and Gus heard from them before they were too far away. They both couldn't believe what was happening, but one thing was clear as they looked at each other: They had to get Robotboy.  
  
\------

  
It seemed like all was going to turn out well. Robotboy was finished charging...   
  
Now if only they had a way to activate him.  
  
"Well, I don't know what we're supposed to do here now." Commented Gus and for once, Lola agreed with him fully.  
  
Lucky for both of them, Robotboy started to grow in size and his eyes opened! Tommy must've found a way to activate Robotboy and the signal had a large reach. All the robot did was smile at the two kids and greeted them as he unplugged himself.  
  
"Hi, Gus. Hi, Lola. Where Tommy?"  
  
"Gone!" Exclaimed Lola and the robot's eyes widened in surprise. "Kamikazi took him!"  
  
"And Deb, too!" Added the freckled boy.  
  
The girl continued to explain. "They left that way!" She said, pointing at a certain direction out the window.  
  
The robot narrowed his eyes and stood determined with his back facing the children. "Stay here! I save!"  
  
And in just one second the only trace of Robotboy in that room was a scorched area on the floor and some smoke in the air. Lola and Gus stared out the window, watching Robotboy's form get smaller as he flew and hoping he would come back with both Tommy and Deb.

\-----

 

How did her happy life as a housewife turn into... _this?_  
  
These Kamikazi and Constantine guys tried to get her to leave once they reached their ship, which was camouflaged as a circus tent, but she refused to leave until they gave her her son back, much to Tommy's disapproval, when suddenly they heard some sirens in the distance: the cops. Kamikazi then told her that she could be prisoner too if she insisted so much, clearly wanting to get out of there quickly, before the police arrived.  
  
They were now flying to Kaziland and both mother and son were inside a cage. Deb, crutching the bars in her hands, spoke threats to Kamikazi.  
  
"Oh, if I make it out of here alive, I am SO telling your mother,  _Doctor Kamikazi_ '!" She remarked with a tint of disrespect in her voice towards the man. "You might do all these things, but you act as if you still lived under her roof! She'll end your evil shenanigans and what will you do then, huh!?"  
  
"My mother is a senile woman, what can she do?" He answered, "but even then, you're right, she'll be really angry when she finds out... Which is why she never will find out!" He exclaimed and then laughed his signature laugh.  
  
Now it was the man piloting the ship to make himself present as well. "Aw, but boss, do you really have to deal with her too? She hasn't done us any wrong."  
  
"Who cares about that! We told her over and over she was of no interest to us, but she still wanted to come, let  _her_  deal with it!"  
  
"I never wanted to come!" Replied Deb, sounding offended, "i just wanted my son to be back with me, but not like this!"  
  
All Tommy did was rub two fingers on the bridge of his nose and groan while this was all happening.  
  
"Mom, Robotboy must be on his way, I activated him. He'll come save us, he always does!"  
  
And she looked at Tommy, still looking angry, but not as intensely as before. "Always? Are you saying this is a habit for you?! Just how many times has this crazy man captured you?!"  
  
Her question took him surprise. It seems like it had really become an habit of sorts to work as Kamikazi's bait to get Robotboy, because he didn't register that he was giving her more information about his whole relationship with the villanous duo. But hey, already screwed up, there's nothing else to do but tell her.  
  
"Well, I... I never considered on counting, but let's say I definitely would need more than two hands to count..." He said as an euphemism for 'way too many times for me to know'.  
  
This did little to ease Deb. If what he said in attempts to calm her down could be codified in numbers, it would take the negative ones.  
  
"What do you even want my son for?! You wish to get the robot, so why would you even get him involved?!”

“You see, Mrs. Turnbull!” Began the older man, now annoyed at her. “Robotboy has a deep attachment with Tommy. If the boy is in any kind of danger, Robotboy will intervene for sure! He’s capable of accepting his own defeat as long as it makes Tommy safe.” He finished with a malicious smile as he constantly hit the tips of his fingers against one another.

Deb didn’t really have time to protest any longer as the ship started to shake and there was a fraction of a moment where the movement was a bit stronger, until it just disappeared. It was the ship landing on Kaziland.

While Kamikazi went over to the pilot’s cabin to order his henchman what to do next, Tommy leaned closer to his mom and whispered to her ear, “It shouldn’t be too bad if we don’t offer resistance. Kamikazi does this to get Robotboy, not because he hates me… well, he does, but that’s another thing. Robotboy should be flying not so far behind and he always manages to beat Kamikazi, so this shouldn’t end too badly. Once Ro is gone, we’ll never have to go through this again…” He commented, hoping to lighten his mother’s mood at least a little bit, but the effect wasn’t as desired. However, she did seem to take into consideration his advice. Offering little resistance would mean the two Japanese men would allow their guards down and thus, Robotboy would kick their butt easily (then again, she doubted about Ro getting there in time, but her son seemed positive at what he was saying… Not to mention he is much more experienced at this whole kidnapping thing, much to her chagrin...)  
  
"Alright... I guess I'll do as you tell me." She announced, gaining a smile from the boy. Just in time for Constantine to open the cage and take both of them, putting each one under an arm, with a grasp firm enough that even squirming was difficult. The ship's door opened and a ramp came out so they could set foot in the volcanic island. Tommy, who was already familiar with the evil lair, limited himself to look at his mom, who was looking around, as if wanting to capture every minimal detail about this place she didn't know even existed. However, she never asked anything about this location, despite her face showing that her mind was full of questions.  
  
Then he thought about Robotboy. He didn't hear any signs from his friend and he couldn't see any sort of smoke trail (then again it was difficult to move his head around to look with the position he was in). He released an anxious breath, hoping Ro wouldn't take too long.  
  
They were now in the main chambers of Kaziland when something burst through the wall, making a huge hole in it. Robotboy was finally here! He hovered in front of the four people with narrowed, distrustful eyes.  
  
"Leave them alone!" He demanded.  
  
Kamikazi smiled, "As you wish. Constantine,"  
  
He snapped his fingers and it took a moment for the sumo wrestler to get what he meant.  
  
"O-oh, yes, boss." And he dropped Deb and Tommy.  
  
Ro kneeled in front of them with a joyful smile, asking them if they were okay. Deb just told Robotboy he needed to get them out of there, while Tommy seemed to have something on his mind. No way on Earth Kamikazi would let them go so easily! Just as he turned around to see where the old man could've possibly gone to, the latter was already pressing a button that was on the wall, and a door started to go upwards, revealing dozens of lions that stood like an organized army. They stood on two feet, like a man, their arms were kinda muscular in comparison to the rest of their bodies and they wore black leotards that would later be revealed to carry Kamikazi's logo: a red circle with a black letter K on their backs.  
  
As the door started to open, it made a noise that Deb and Robotboy couldn't ignore, so they looked towards the source and were surprised to see the half-lion, half-man forces. Deb felt like she wanted to faint, while Robotboy had already figured out what he must do now.  
  
"But first, you'll have to fight my lion clones. They're very agile and ferocious and _not afraid of hurting people_ ,” He commented, implying that they could hurt Deb or Tommy if they saw themselves in the necessity, "You can surrender and I'll send them home. Insist on fighting and there's no telling what may happen to them."  
  
"Robotboy, you can't surrender to him! Fight!"  
  
Deb didn't like those words at all, "Tommy!"  
  
But Robotboy already had it clear. He had to fight, so he adopted a fighting stance and narrowed his eyes. Kamikazi's mouth curled up a bit further once he knew what Robotboy meant with such body language.  
  
"Lion clones! ATTACK!"

The lions started to march out of their previous holding place and Robotboy looked behind him, where both Turnbulls were still on the ground.  
  
"Tommy! Help Mom!"  
  
And with that, he took off and hovered in mid-air, hoping this would deviate the clones' attention towards him and make them ignore Tommy and Deb. Tommy, on the other hand, got up and pressured his mom to do the same. He guided her to the chair Kamikazi usually sat on and they hid behind it. It wasn't a very good hiding spot, since their legs were still visible, but it was better than nothing. The boy wanted to use this instance to tell his mother a few more things before springing back into action.  
  
"Kamikazi does this all the time. He builds clones that Robotboy has to fight. Sometimes I can make this task easier for him, but I don't really see anything we could use..."  
  
"Tommy, what are you talking about, you can't do that! Let's just find a better hiding spot and stay there until he wins!"

“But the sooner he defeats them, the sooner we’ll get out of here! And-“ His sentence was cut short when hearing the sound of what seemed like an electrical whip cracking against the floor. The boy peeked out a little from behind the chair and saw a lion trying to catch Robotboy by wrapping him up in a whip, one that Robotboy successfully dodged. “See? They even have weapons!” Continued the blonde kid, “I can’t just stand here and do nothing to help!”

Deb kneeled down and firmly placed both hands on her son’s shoulders, turning him around and shaking him a bit. “So what, they could hurt you with those weapons too! Remember what that man said, they’re not afraid of harming people!”

“Y-yes, but…” He stammered, nervously looking to the side. He didn’t really have many good arguments left. “I usually don’t get hurt at all when this kind of things happens!”

Deb wasn’t having any of it, as such was shown with a mix of a sigh and a groan from her part. She looked behind her and saw a long corridor that led into a mysterious room. She had no way to know what hid there, but considered it was better to try and hide there than to stay where they currently were.

“Tommy, look, that corridor leads somewhere! Let’s go, but quick!”

Tommy, on the other hand, thought that maybe something could be there to help Robotboy, maybe weapons or just chunks of meat to keep the lions entertained, but whatever it could be, it convinced him to go with her.

They started running towards the huge door that was at the end when they felt their heartbeats almost stop at the sound of a loud roar. They turned around and saw that, indeed, a lion did a great jump and was now falling towards them with his claws out and his fangs looking more prominent than ever. Both Turnbulls tried to keep running and arrive to the unknown room, but their fear altered their physical coordination and the lion-human hybrid’s weight was enough to make the corridor shake when he finally fell. Tommy was now under the lion, but thankfully he hadn’t gotten any scratches… yet. The lion didn’t seem entirely aggressive, since he didn’t go straight for Tommy’s face or body, but simply loomed over him with eyes glowing slightly. Tommy’s mind was entirely consumed for fear over his own life… until he heard his mom say an “uh oh” and then scream in pure terror. He managed to turn his head without making the clone too angry and saw that his mother had lost her footing and was now falling down, towards the lava!

\-----

 

_This is it, this is it, today is my last day, I won’t survive, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, **I’m gonna die!**_

Only very few thoughts were clear in Deb’s mind, and she was simply unable to word any of them, she could only scream. Was a tranquil life too much to ask for?! Apparently yes, because going to your son’s rescue _had_ to imply your own death. And to top it all, Tommy was most likely going to die as well! And all of this because of that stupid robot that!...

Just saved her life.

She felt her body suddenly hit what felt like metal and she was no longer falling, although flying. When she opened her eyes just a little bit to see what had just happened, she saw Robotboy’s face looking ahead. But his face was different, his eyes were red and he was wearing some sort of mask. When she looked down, mostly to check herself for any damage, she noticed that his arms were very, _very_ bulky and she fit in them perfectly.

He had superactivated.

And he did it for her.

She was still speechless by the time the huge android left her safely on a corner, way down the volcano island, with the lava just being a few centimeters below the surface she now rested on. Sure, it was unnerving to see lava so close, but at least now it wasn’t waiting to devour her with it’s intense, deadly heat. The robot flew back to the action scene, up there, and kept fighting the clones. She could also spot Tommy, now free from that Lion’s grasp, crawling his way towards the room they were trying to get into less than a minute ago. Apparently seeing Robotboy in his superactivated form had distracted the lion-human hybrid from it’s prey and thus, the ten year old was able to get to a safer place.

Deb saw that the “floor” she was in was connected to some weird looking stairs. They were literal chunks of volcanic rock that would’ve been floating, if not for the little sets of stairs that connected them with one another, giving it a zig-zag shape. Still, gravity should make it impossible for such a structure to balance it’s own weight and not come apart, but at this point she knew better than to question anything illogical.

At one point, Robotboy threw the little remaining forces of Kamikazi off the upper platform, but didn’t pay much attention as to where he had thrown them, because each landed on one of those rock chunks. The robot soon saw his mistake, because they now had an easy access to Deb. He rocketed down and put himself in front of her, making it clear to the clones that they were **not** hurting the woman today.

The lions, seemingly very in-synch with each other, posed as if they were about to take alternate routes to attack Deb, to which Robotboy responded by trying to tackle them before they could do anything, but he didn’t know he was falling into their trap. He managed to get a hold of one and started punching him many times. This task had him so concentrated on that particular clone, that he didn’t notice another one with a big ring crouching and using his propulsion feet to set the ring on fire, resembling the ones normal lions would usually jump through in common circuses. The armed lion was about to hit Robotboy in the back with the improvised fire weapon, but he could not take the robot by surprise.

“Watch out!”

Deb was watching everything unravel and, despite being scared for her life, a feeling of protectiveness did arise in her, making her alert the robot that he was about to be attacked. The lion turned around and faced her with eyes so angry that Deb suddenly felt like an ant. And for a good reason, because the lion decided to throw the ring at her instead. She didn’t have time to react, she only cowever farther into the corner, but the ring was going to touch her anyway.

And it did.

It did hurt, but not like she thought. An eyelid of hers opened and she saw that the ring was no longer covered in flames. It now had a covering of _ice_. There must’ve been tiny ice crystals on the surface that must’ve made her hurt a little when it came in contact with her skin, but that’s all in the past now.

Deb wasn’t too sure, but maybe the fact that she did help Robotboy out, after the unkind treatment she had towards him the past six days, must’ve made him happy, because he got distracted as he smiled at her with his eyes and gave her a thumbs up. Poor Robotboy did not see the whip that was being charged at him.

“Careful! They’re gonna-“

The second the tip of that whip and Robotboy touched, bright electricity filled the nearby sorroundings and the silver-coated friend was forced out of his Superactivated Mode. He was still activated, though disoriented for the first few seconds. Still, being in such a state meant he could be easily defeated, so Deb took no chances and smacked the lion who did it on the head with the icy ring, making him disoriented as well. By the time the lions recovered from the surprise of having been attacked by a _human woman_ , Robotboy was already back to his senses and ready to kick butt. It shouldn’t be too hard, and indeed it wasn’t. All he did was summon a rope with a claw machine attached at the end of it and used it to wrap all the clones. Then he flew upwards and threw them out through the crater. Satisfied, he started hovering near to the floor, smacking his palms together as if he were trying to get dirt out of them and with narrowed eyes and a smile, he looked at Kamikazi and Constantine, who simply stared dumbly at him, unsure of what would happen to them now. Apparently, their fate would be the same as those lions’, because Robotboy tied them up as well and threw them away. From inside the volcano, a distant “splash” was heard.

Deb had really thought she had seen Robotboy’s true colors on that awful Friday afternoon, but now she saw there was so much more to him. He might be capable of becoming a machine of bloodshed if he so desired, but above all things, all he wanted was to protect the ones he cared about, he only did things like this to make sure everyone’s safe. This had been told to her, true, but maybe what she needed was experience it for herself, to see the robot’s tender nature in all it’s magnitude. She yelled at him, made him feel bad for living in her house, avoided conversations and threatened to kick him out… and he still went to her rescue with no second thoughts.

Now she couldn’t help but feel some sort of fondness towards him, as well as a bit of pride at herself for helping him defeat Kamikazi. Now that all foes were done for, she came out from the corner she was using as shelter and looked up, where Robotboy was simply standing, looking around.

“I-is something else supposed to happen?” She asked with her voice high.

The whitish blue machine looked down at her and then to his side, apparently ashamed and hesitant to answer what was wrong.

“Robotboy… no can find Tommy.”

Deb couldn’t help the smile from blossoming on her lips. “He’s over there,” She answered, pointing at the door that was connected to the corridor, “He hid somewhere in there while you were fighting those things.”

Robotboy’s mouth broke into a joyful smile and immediately went where she had told him. Not so long later, Ro was descending with Tommy in his arms. Deb embraced her son tightly, blabbering about how happy she was that he was safe. Tommy himself felt a bit of relief and embarrassment at the same time, telling her he was happy to see her safe and sound too, but that she was exaggerating her reaction a bit. As long as Robotboy was around, he was sure danger wasn't something to be too concerned about.

After the reunion was over, they all were thinking on the same thing: going home.

“Ro, I think you’ll need to superactivate, so you can fly mom and I home.”

“Sorry, but Robotboy no can superactivate.”

“What?” Tommy hadn’t seen much from the fight after he hid in that room, so he didn’t know Robotboy was forced to go back to his normal mode.

“Clones attack Robotboy with whip,” Explained their metal sidekick, “It neutralize superactivation powers.”

“Maybe…” Both boys were slightly surprised to hear Deb making suggestions, “I can just carry Tommy in my arms and you carry me?”

Robotboy seemed to like the idea and he jumped into the air to start flying, but upon closer inspection, he saw that Deb’s shirt didn’t really have a neck, a part of human clothing that he was used to grab when carrying people around. He told her this and she seemed to be troubled with what to do now, same as Tommy. Robotboy, however, already had something in mind.

He floated down and slid a panel on his arm open, revealing a cellphone that was installed in his body. He dialed a number and started speaking with whoever was on the other side of the line.

“Hello… boat trip for two, no, three!.. We in Kaziland now, need go Bay Area… Okay, thank you!”

The call was cut and with his other arm, he retracted his hand and a stick with some bills rolled around it emerged from his wrist.

“No worry. Robotboy manage,” He said, sporting a smile. Tommy and Deb couldn’t help, but laugh.

The robot went to leave Tommy and Deb on the beach, one at a time instead of getting them both down simultaneously, just in time for the boat guy to come. The trip back was uneventful and once they reached the Bay Area, they went walking to their home sweet home, except Robotboy, who had been deactivated to appear like a regular doll so no suspicions would be drawn.

Such an adventure made the two Turnbulls almost forget that Lola and Gus had come to play, so they were (gladly) surprised to see the two kids inside their home, waiting for them.

“Mrs. Turnbull, Tommy!” Exclaimed a happy Lola, “Thank goodness you came back in one piece!”

The G-man slid closer to Lola and made his signature know-it-all face, “See, Lola? I told you they’d be back alive,” And then he was hit by a sharp elbow on his stomach, “Ow! Hey!”

Deb cracked a smile and in a somewhat exhausted tone muttered, “Almost.”

Tommy’s friends were sort of confused by what she said, so she explained.

“I was very close to dying at one point, but…” She took a glance at the inert robot in her son’s hands and continued, “Robotboy saved me, and made me see how wrong I was for trying to kick him out. He showed me how much he truly cares about Tommy, and apparently me as well, so…”

“Robotboy is staying!” Announced an excited Tommy, holding his deactivated friend above his head. His friends’ faces suddenly shifted and they cheered alongside him. Gus even did a little victory dance.

Deb then told the kids she was gonna finish washing the dishes and that they could stay to play a little longer, though she preferred them to be indoors, just in case. The three kids sat on the couch and Tommy once more activated his best pal, who was just as delighted to see Gus and Lola as they were to see him. They mostly talked and catched up on what had happened, and by the time they were done, so was Deb with the dishes.

“The sun’s starting to go down, kids,” She started, “It’s best for you to go home now. Will you be safe?”

Gus got off the couch and lazily waved a hand, “Pfft, absolutely. And if any bad guys are around, they’ll regret messing with the G-man!” He said, adopting a ridiculous fight pose.

Lola also stood on her feet now and headed towards the phone. “I can just call home, so someone comes pick me up. They’re usually fast.”

The woman dried her hands on the apron she was wearing and smiled at them, “Well then, take care you two.”

Gus simply walked his way home, since it was anything but far away. And around 5 seconds after Lola called home, a limo was outside, waiting for her to hop in.

“What a day, huh?” Commented the mother, wiping fake sweat from her forehead with an arm. Then she bounced a little in place as she remembered something, “Tommy, you should call Moshimo and tell him Robotboy can stay, oh, but don’t you think he’ll be annoyed that we’re telling him now that his place must be almost ready?”

“Nah, I doubt that. Moshimo’s full of patience and he prefers Robotboy to be with me anyway. Only that way he can become a real boy.”

“A real boy? I fear I don’t understand what you mean…”

“Robotboy want be real boy!” Said the cheerful robotic voice.

Tommy smiled at his friend, “It’s his biggest dream.”

Deb still had a way to go in understanding the robot, since she clearly was a bit confused as to why he’d want to become a real boy when there was nothing wrong with him being a robot, but of course she opted not to press any further on the matter and tried to smile at the whitish blue machine. He had a heart of gold and she didn’t want to turn it into coal.

“Well then, I’ll go upstairs, I feel like I could sleep for days after this,” She commented with a laugh. She took the apron off and went upstairs, with Tommy and Robotboy following behind. Now in his room, Tommy pressed a button on his watch and a hologram of Professor Moshimo, who apparently was working on something, appeared. The old Japanese man turned around to see his number one fan with Robotboy by his side. At first he didn’t question the smiles they were both wearing.

“Tommy, hello. I’m almost done with the special security and defense systems, so Robotboy will most likely be able to come one day before planned!” He said, hiding the negative emotions this whole situation was causing him.

“No need for that, Professor!” Announced a happy Tommy and the robotologist raised his eyebrows in curiosity, “Mom had a change of mind and decided that Robotboy can stay!”

Now it was Moshimo’s turn to give a big smile. “Well, aren’t those good news! May I ask what made her change her mind?”

“You see, Kamikazi captured me and, unintentionally, mom, so Robotboy would come to our rescue and then be captured by him, but he saved us, as he usually does, and my mom saw how heroic he can be when his loved ones are in danger, so she decided that he can stay!”

“Well, I’m very glad you’re all okay. I think I’ll finish the preparations, however. You can never know when they might be necessary. You already know this, but if Robotboy is ever in the need of coming here, he’s always welcome, just as you are, Tommy,” He said and then scratching his chin, he continued, “And if your mother is able of keeping my location and my inventions a secret, then she can also come anytime.”

With eyes shining from how well everything turned out to be, Tommy answered his role model, “Wow, thank you so much, Professor! Well, take things with more ease now, you’ve done enough for us already.”

“Well, it’s always my pleasure. Take care, oh, and send greetings to your mom!” Said the robotologist before ending the call.

“I will, Professor, I will.” Said Tommy, now to no one in particular. He turned his head to the side to see Robotboy and in a fraction of a second he was suddenly wrapped by two metallic arms and his ears detected the always nice sound of his robotic buddy cheering and celebrating. He returned the hug and laughed along with his best friend for a few more seconds before letting go.

“Come on, it’s been a long day. Let’s go to bed.”

The robot emitted an affirmative beep as he nodded and jumped right into the bed that he and Tommy had built together. The blonde kid, on the other hand, had to undress and put on some pajamas before imitating the android’s actions. Just as he pulled the covers up, Deb appeared on the doorway, with pajamas of her own.

“So? What did he say?”

“He’s glad Robotboy gets to stay. He said that if we ever need it, we can go to his place, he’ll always receive us well, aaand he sent you greetings.”

She rested her head on the doorway for a moment and smiled at her son, “I see. Well then, good night.” She had just begun to walk away when a voice she didn’t expect to hear called for her.

“Wait!”

It was Robotboy. She turned around and locked eyes with him.

“Where Robotboy good night kiss?”

That made an old memory resurface. Just a day after Tommy complained about being treated like a baby by her, he had come up with the weird request of tucking in Robotboy. She considered it to be part of a silly game, but now that she had a wider panorama, she realized it might have been because Ro did want to be tucked in bed by a mother figure.

Just like a real boy.

Giggling to herself, she stepped into the room once more and headed to the robot’s bed. He lay down, resting his head on the pillow and she pulled up the cover for him, leaving them just a bit below the mouth. Then she lovingly pressed her lips on top of his head, gaining a wide smile from him.

“Good night, Robotboy.” She said with the same tone she used that one other time she kissed him good night. Now she couldn’t deny to herself that she had a soft spot for him, and she knew it would just keep growing.

“Good night, mom.” Said Robotboy, whose optical sensors involuntarily became brighter with happiness. “Good night, Tommy.” He then said as the mother started to leave.

Tommy smiled back at his friend and said “good night” to him as well before deactivating him. So many things aren’t gonna be as they have been for the longest time, Tommy knew that, but he was sure that the future was, in it’s greatest part, going to change for the better. Donnie and Dwight still couldn’t find out about Ro, that would be too risky, but he trusted that mom would be able to keep her lips sealed and that she’d now treat the silver coated buddy with the kindness he deserved, that she’d be Robotboy’s second mother, one that would be close far more frequently.

Sleep came easily, since a huge weight he’d been carrying over his shoulders had been lifted and thrown away to never be seen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short story, but I hope you liked it regardless! I'll be making more fics about Deb and Robotboy's relationship in the future, and those will be dropping some references to this fic in particular every once in a while. Still, I think you can skip this fic and understand the next fics with no problem, so do what you must!


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